Less-Boring Turkey Tacos

Ok, first of all, you can use beef in this recipe if you want to. Beef is delicious. I love beef! I’ll take a good, juicy hamburger any day over the poultry-based variety… Shameless side note though, I do have a handful of tasty turkey-burger recipes in my repertoire, try them out, you won’t be disappointed:

• BBQ Glazed Turkey Burgers
• Turkey sliders (with bacon and apple slaw)
• Spicy Chipotle Turkey burgers

That all being said, turkey can be a pretty boring meat. Especially ground turkey. I’ve made the mistake in the past of making turkey burgers with nothing added to the patty. Yep, they were dry, tasteless hockey pucks.

I’ve also made plenty of ground turkey tacos, both with the little packets of seasoning (which this recipe uses, so don’t think I’m getting too judgy) and by making my own spice mix. They’re fine. They’re just kinda bleh. Run of the mill. You know: boring.

This recipe tries to remedy that, by – at least – making them less so.

For the record, this was simply a low-effort attempt to spice up (HAHAHA) taco night. My wife and I were early in the first year of being parents of twins. We had nearly exhausted our stores of premade food, were down tot he last of our gift cards, and had resorted to easy to make meals, like turkey tacos. But just because we were sleep-deprived, didn’t mean our tastebuds had disappeared.

Quite frankly, I got bored eating just ground turkey, and dumped a bunch of other stuff in the pan. It worked, and it’s what we’ve been doing ever since.

Give it a try, I bet you’ll like it too. Plus the leftovers make for a great nacho-topping.Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground turkey
• 1 can of black beans
• 1 can of corn
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (I like the kind with Mexican spices, or green chiles in them)
• 1 packet of taco mix
• salt and pepper
• vegetable oil

For serving:

• Diced lettuce
• Diced tomatoes
• shredded cheese
• tortillas or taco shells

Instructions:

1. Heat a large frying pan on the stove over medium heat. Add a tablespoon of oil, and wait a minute or two for it to heat. Drain the liquid out of the beans and corn.
2. Add the ground turkey, and break it up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add a pinch of salt and pepper, and give it a good stir.
3. Stir and break up the big pieces, until the turkey is in nice, browned crumbles. (4-5 minutes) Spoon out all but a small amount of the liquid.
4. Add the beans, corn, and spice packet, and fold it all together. The remaining liquid from the beans and corn, as well as the fat from the turkey, should let the spices build up a nice coating on everything else. (1-2 minutes)
5. Add the tomatoes, and fold it all together again. It might be a little too runny at this point (some canned tomatoes are more watery than others), so turn the heat to mid-low, and let some of that liquid reduce. Stir it every minute or so, so it doesn’t stick to the pan. (4-5 minutes)
6. Side note: You may want to taste it before serving, and give it another sprinkle of salt and pepper, or – if you like it spicy – add a bit of hot sauce.
7. Chop your lettuce and tomatoes, and shred your cheese.
8. Serve it up in shells or on tortillas, and enjoy!